Car exhaust identified as CO culprit

Salt Spring Fire-Rescue has confirmed the carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning that occurred at Kingfisher Cove and affected 16 victims last week was caused by a car that was left accidentally running in a garage.

“This could have been the single largest devastating accident we had on this island for years,” said Salt Spring Fire Chief Tom Bremner.

With the car’s 86-year-old owner seriously poisoned and sent to Vancouver General Hospital for life-saving treatment, Bremner said he was not at liberty to release the cause immediately after the incident occurred. However, the victim has since recovered enough to speak with her nephew, Eric Booth, who said the family wishes to share its information to prevent further tragedies.

“It was totally accidental,” Booth explained.

“My aunt got distracted and the door was shut on the garage — it’s downstairs, so she couldn’t hear [the car] running. She went to bed totally unaware it was still running.”

At best guess she had arrived home during the afternoon of Nov. 13 and the car continued to run until the following evening at 8 p.m.

Booth said it was extremely lucky his sister went over to check on her aunt. She realized the car was running and turned it off. Booth, who was just four blocks away, arrived quickly, and then moved his aunt’s bed, where she was lying unconscious next to the open sliding glass door while calling 911 for help.

According to Emergency Care in the Streets, the training manual used by BC paramedics, CO “is produced during the incomplete combustion of organic fuels, most commonly in the automobile engine or home-heating devices.” It is odourless in itself, although in this case firefighters who arrived on scene were able to detect the strong smell of car exhaust.

Very often, the victims of CO poisoning have no idea it’s happening. A car in a small, closed garage can produce enough CO to be lethal in 15 to 30 minutes. However, “the atmospheric level does not need to be very high for the poisoning to occur, for the affinity of haemoglobin for CO is more than 200 times that for oxygen . . .  The result is suffocation at the cellular level.”

Flu-like symptoms, such as headaches, nausea and vomiting, may occur, and in acute cases victims may appear drunk, confused or unable to think clearly. Children are more rapidly affected than adults because of their higher metabolisms.

Besides car exhaust, CO poisoning is often a winter phenomenon due to chimney flues and ventilation systems getting blocked. Anyone with a wood or propane stove should have a CO detector, especially because the gas is usually unnoticeable by other means.

With the season of storms and power outages just starting up, islanders should also ensure to never bring inside any device that’s meant for outdoor use — whether it’s a propane camp stove, a barbecue, a patio heater or a backyard fireplace.

The BC Building Code now requires CO alarms in every new residence that also contains a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage. Bremner notes it’s equally important that people pay attention when alarms do go off and notify emergency response workers.

“We hardly ever say no — if it’s related to us, we’ll come out,” Bremner said, noting some people may feel wrongly embarrassed to call.

During last week’s incident, at least one CO alarm in a neighbouring unit had been going off all day. When the emergency teams were finally called out, they had to put on breathing apparatus before they could enter the unit and remove the main victim, and then evacuate the 15 people in the attached unit next door. The precaution is part of the procedure they must follow since they would themselves be at risk of being overcome by the gas.

Booth admitted he was not completely aware of the danger he put himself in by entering the CO-filled house, although he’s not sure that he would have acted differently if he had.

“Adrenaline kicks in — you’re faced with a life or death situation,” he said.

Booth said his aunt’s main home is on the East Coast and she therefore probably never thought of having a CO alarm installed here. She is lucky to be alive, and fortunately is a fit person who still cross country skis at age 86. She is still in intensive care in Vancouver but is recovering well and looking forward to leaving the hospital, where she will likely remain for another week.

Booth’s aunt and the neighbouring victims also benefitted from the integrated management of the local response teams, which included 20 firefighters, four paramedics and one police officer.

For more information on CO poisoning, pick up a pamphlet at the fire hall, see the link at www.saltspringfire.com or visit web sources such as www.healthlinkbc.ca.